Car and cash scam

It has been reported to the Madison County Carrier that Madison County residents have received scam phone calls from (876) 793-6865 claiming that they won a new Mercedes Benz and $6,000 in cash. The catch was that in order for the citizens to receive their prize, the caller needed credit card information to pay the taxes. This is a scam call, so be wary. According to Fraud.org, the clue that the phone call is a scam is that it’s illegal for any company to ask you to pay or buy something to win a prize. Also you do not have to give the company money for taxes on your prize. Taxes will be deducted from your winnings or you will pay them directly to the government. Similar scams have occurred across the United States. Guard your credit card and banking account information closely. Be sure of who you are talking to before giving out the information. If you receive a similar call, do not hesitate to hang up. You may report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission by file a complaint using the FTC Complaint Assistant at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. You may also put yourself on the national “do-not-call” registry to stop most telemarketing calls. Call 1-888-382-1222, TTY 1-866-290-4326 or go to www.donotcall.gov. You can also tell companies not to call you again on a case-by-case basis.